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CHAUDIÈRE-APPALACHES, QUE.–When Hugues Parisien walks towards the kennel, the dogs go wild. Howling and singing and speaking in canine tongues, they leap against their chains, hoping to be chosen to tear through the forest and snow.

“I connect with them,” says Parisien, a former circus instructor who taught kids juggling, acrobatics and the art of trapeze. “Working with dogs is freedom.”

Parisien, 35, tends to a pack of 50 huskies and malamutes at Appalaches, a sprawling resort in St-Paul-de-Montminy, in Québec’s south-central Chaudière-Appalaches region: an area nestled between the St. Lawrence River and the rugged northwestern edge of the Appalachian Mountains, an ancient mountain range that runs a diagonal 2,400-kilometre course from Newfoundland to the U.S. state of Alabama.

Adjacent to Quebec’s Parc régional du Massif du Sud, the resort makes a celebration out of winter. We’re about to try cani-raquette, or dog-snowshoeing — a form of winter transportation that First Nations people have been using since time immemorial.

Parisien hands me a sturdy nylon belt to strap around my waist. Our group straps on snowshoes and follows Parisien as he chooses our dogs. For me, he picks aptly-named Quebec, a slender but strong salt-and-pepper-coloured husky.

“He’s my favourite,” Parisien says. “He has the passion to run.”

The dogs are harnessed. Parisien handles them like luggage. When Quebec is finally attached to me, he doesn’t need any encouragement. As Quebec bounds through the woods, I try desperately to keep up with the powerful animal. I trip and fall into the snow. Quebec, at least, has the courtesy to wait when I land on my face.

Parisien stops. He’s smoking a hand-rolled cigarette and shaking his head. He’s got a kind of gutter-punk mountain-man look to him, with well-worn shorts pulled over thick leggings, a faded hoodie and dreadlocks pulled through a toque that’s been cut open at the top. His crystal-blue eyes always seem to be taking something in.

It is later when Parisien reveals he spent 12 years as a circus instructor in the eastern Quebec town of Gaspé.

Five years ago, he began working with dogs.

“Working with animals teaches you patience,” he says. “They’re more pleasant to work with than humans.”

With us in the forest, Parisien has three dogs tethered to his waist, half of our group having given up their fight against the manic animals.

I get up and Quebec stars bounding ahead of me again.

“You have to lean back,” Parisien shouts.

Bending back against the harness, I begin to let Quebec do all the work now. He’s scrambling in the snow and lurching me forward. I’ve found my balance. All I have to do is just lift my legs and I’m moving ahead under the animal’s steam.

Parisien looks back approvingly.

“You have to be aware of the dogs’ emotions,” he says later, explaining his mastery over his charges. “The more you take care of the dogs, the more they’re going to love you.”

Appalaches resort in St-Paul-de-Montminy, Que., features activities for guests year-round.

Appalaches, when the snow gets metres deep, buzzes with a predominantly Québécois crowd who snowmobiles on winding trails, cross-country skis along mountainous paths, navigates a nail-biting downhill luge course aboard wooden sleds, tears through the forest aboard dogsleds, or just soaks outside in the steamy waters of Appalaches’ Nordic spa.

Alongside the resort, right between its bright and airy restaurant and the bustling dog kennel, you’ll find the rickety wood and tarpaulin shack that Parisien calls come. It’s heated by a woodstove. An extension cord provides electricity for light. A washroom comes in the form of a porta potty. He doesn’t even have a phone, let alone an e-mail address. It’s a simple place and one that stands in stark contrast to the polished resort, but Parisien is happy here. He has the woods and his dogs and he has peace.

“There are many ways to live,” Parisien says. “I choose my way.”

Guests can soak in the warm waters of Appalaches resort’s outdoor Nordic baths.

Daniel Otis was hosted by Tourisme Québec, Tourisme Chaudière-Appalaches and Tourisme Centre du Québec, which did not review or approve this story.

When you go

Get there: The closest major airport to the Chaudière-Appalaches region is Quebec City’s Jean Lesage International Airport. Or make the 800-kilometre drive from Toronto to Quebec City. From Quebec City, it’s another 90-minute drive to the Appalaches resort.

Get around: You must have or rent a car.

When to go: The Chaudière-Appalaches region is a four-seasons destination, although it’s definitely at its most magical in the snowy depths of winter (December through February) and during the height of colourful autumn (mid-September to mid-October).

Stay: I stayed at the Appalaches resort (appalachesspa.com), which has rooms in wood-panelled chalets, and packages that include meals and activities. The resort’s chalets can also accommodate groups of up to 12 people.

Do your research: The Chaudière-Appalaches region is located directly across the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City. Chaudière-Appalaches’ website (chaudiereappalaches.com) offers good trip-planning resources.

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